Life truly begins when we start listening to that divine whisper in our soul. The call, straight from our heart, to do that thing we were put on this planet to do.

For me, it took having my little brother getting diagnosed with a serious illness and ending a three year relationship with a man I thought I’d be with forever to finally wake up and start listening.

It wasn’t that I was totally ignoring what was in my heart before, I had been fiercely drawn to acting and dance from my childhood and had ventured the path less traveled passionately. There was no denying that I was fueled from something within and it allowed me pick a career that had no guarantees and pursue it fearlessly. However, I had come toward the end of the road with acting, it was like a romantic relationship that was no longer serving you and it felt so strange to even think about leaving because you spent so much time loving that person so much.

I don’t look back at all those years spent acting as a mistake, in fact, I’m so grateful for them because they taught me such valuable lessons that I utilize today, they made up the fiber of who I am. It wasn’t until the sadness I faced in my own life propelled me toward a state of being where I NEEDED to follow my joy to move forward that I grew out of it. My little “love project”, a healthy living blog, became the focus of my days. Meditating, taking care of myself and sharing what I was doing with others was all I wanted to do. It brought such happiness – I didn’t even THINK about making any sort of a business out of it till I started getting emails from people wanting to coach with me.

How could I not help them? But who was I to do this work?

I knew I needed to help these women through the struggles I had been able to navigate in my life but I was seriously questioning my ability to make an impact.

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” – A Course in Miracles

Once I said a big hearty “YES!” to my calling, I quickly added, “but I need you to show me how!”.

And just like that the teachers appeared, the youtube videos I needed to watch popped up on my feed, the book I needed to read fell of the shelfs and the programs I needed to embark on showed up.

Gabby Bernstein was already a light on my spiritual path and a tremendous force of inspiration in my life so when I heard she had an audio course called, “God is my Publicist” I knew this was my kind of business talk. I devoured it over the course of a few days, wrote out every exercise, soaked up each visualization and sat in the various meditations to get clear about what I was here to say and who I was here to serve. Words can’t do justice to the power that one course had in helping me create the thriving soul centered business I have today, the tools I learned from Gabby are ones that I will still regularly touch back on whenever I need to recenter.

Now, I have the great privilege of having coaching clients who come to me for spiritual business guidance, my online “love-based business workshop” was a hit and I had been really feeling the call to share more of my light-based business practices with you. So when Gabby gave me a call to see if I wanted to partner up for the launch of her amazing Spirit Junkie Master Class Digital, I knew it was a sign to make it happen!

Not only am I ecstatic to share with you Gabby’s powerful spiritual leadership training, SJMC Digital but I am over the moon to introduce you to my *brand new* LightMaker Business Bundle which will be yours exclusively when you sign up for class through my affiliate link.

So what’s SJMC all about?

Spirit Junkie Masterclass Digital is a transformational deep-dive into what it means (and takes) to be a spiritual leader. It equips you with the tools, knowledge and network you need to catalyze real, sustainable growth as a spiritual leader. The 8-module course is made up of video recordings, audio recordings and typed transcriptions from her live training events. What’s so awesome about the digital training is that you will be catapulted right into the auditorium with her. You will feel the energy of the group and get the best expression of Gabby as a teacher.

In the 8-module Spirit Junkie Masterclass Digital course, you will:

• • Get step-by-step guidance on how to establish and grow your spiritual business, manifest media for your message and make money online doing what you love.

  • Deepen your own spiritual practice.

  • Get advice and wisdom from leading experts in personal growth and spirituality.

  • Learn how to turn your blog into a business, publish a life-changing book, lead a transformational talk and create digital courses so that you can create passive revenue for your great work.

  • Establish key connections – professional relationships and personal friendships alike – with fellow Spirit Junkie leaders on the private Facebook group and the live comment feed in the training community.

  • Become eligible to join Gabby’s referral network. By participating in the Spirit Junkie Masterclass you have the opportunity to apply to become part of her elite international coaching referral network. (When you receive your Level 1 certification you become eligible to attend the Level 2 course, where you can apply to become a Gabrielle Bernstein coach.)

  • Join 2 live Q&A calls with Gabby.

  • Have access to an always-fresh, forever relevant program that you can take at your own pace and revisit for a lifetime.

  • Experience the energy and enthusiasm from the live training in the comfort of your own home.

  • Have the option to learn via video, audio, or typed transcripts – whichever format fits your learning style best.

Plus Gabby is offering an extra special bonus when you sign up for the training before 10/9/15. The extra special bonus is Gabby’s brand new Spirit Junkie Business Basics digital program! She created and designed this 3-module digital program with her team of business professionals, including lawyers, bookkeepers, CPA’s and insurance brokers. It will give you everything you need to set up the back end of your business: contracts, negotiating tools, insurance information and much more. This special bonus is valued at $397, but it’s free when you sign up for SJM Digital before 10/9/15.

AND WHEN YOU REGISTER NOW THROUGH THIS LINK, YOU WILL ALSO GET MY LIGHTMAKER BUSINESS BUNDLE TO HELP YOU GO EVEN BIGGER AND SHINE EVEN BRIGHTER!

The LightMaker Business Bundle is designed to help you create and support your most expansive life. I’ll give you the tools that I’ve found most powerful in growing my audience, working with clients, supporting my success and busting through my money blocks.

What you’ll get:

–  The Client Course: In this video I will teach you how to get clear on your core clients, why it’s more effective to be specific about who your here to serve and how to let people know that your open for business. I’ll also go through what a coaching session might look like, how to put together your coaching packages and of course, how to decide what to charge.

– Soul-centered Social Media:  In this video I will share with you the catalyst for my own social media growth, how to decide what platforms to be active on and how frequently you should be posting. I’ll also talk about effective ways of sharing your message on social media, how to curate your feed and why some posts get more traction than others based on my personal experience.

– Supporting Your Success: In this video, I take you through the lifestyle changes needed to hold a bigger space in the world and serve at a higher level. When we fill ourselves up first, everything flows and we have so much energy for our work and those around us. I’ll share with  you my personal practices, guide you finding your own and provide you with some tips to get started today.

– Busting Through Money Blocks: In this video we tackle the ever-so touchy subject of money. Could your lack based beliefs or financial fears be sabotaging the growth of your business? You bet. I did a lot of work around my finances to erase belief systems that weren’t serving me and sit in a place of abundance and flow and now I want to share it with you.

– You’ll also get 4 LIVE Q+A calls with me, one on each video topic the week after it has been released.

The total value of this bundle is way over $700 and it’s not currently available separately so be sure to take advantage of this special offer while it’s here!

Sign up for the Spirit Junkie Masterclass Digital here and get my LightMaker business bundle to help further support your growing business. Can’t wait to guide you along this exciting journey!

** LightMaker Business Bundle will be sent out on 10/20 once all sales are final.**

This past weekend I had a tremendous wake up call and a sharp return to FUN (aka LOVE). I was hanging out with my girlfriend who had just gotten back from a beautiful trip to Morocco and chatting away about all the things I had to get done before my move this coming Monday when she totally called me out on the drained look that took over my face as I listed off the tremendous amount of tasks on my place.

She was right. I was letting myself be weighed down by the sheer amount of items and had forgotten all about the FUN that got me to want to do all these things to begin with.

After a little back and forth it was clear to see that I had been taking life far too seriously. I managed to suck all the fun out of the amazing things I was deep down excited to be able to create because of the weight in which I was holding them.

I realized that I’ve gotten to where I am today because I’ve LEAD WITH WHAT LIGHTS ME UP and it’s important to not lose sight of that.

This is all about the journey not the destination. There is no destination, spoiler alert, we are constantly sailing new shores and arriving a new ports only to stock up some goods and move on to the next adventure. So it’s crucial that we start loving the journey, cherishing the day to day and really following our fun in each moment.

This snapped me back to my truth, I realized that I needed to bring back the fun and hold everything a little more lightly. I rescheduled or canceled things on the agenda that didn’t feel fun and tackled my soul centered project with an attitude of JOY not obligation. The result? Things got done faster and with more ease. 

A lot of people ask me who my publicist is and I love to get a good laugh about it.

“The Universe?”

That’s the truth. It’s through following my fun, leading with what lights me up and just pursuing what brought me joy that I’ve not only found my tribe but attracted amazing opportunities to share my message. So whatever stage your at, whether your trying to meet like-minded friends or you want to sit next to Oprah on Super Soul Sunday, or both, cause why not?! The secret sauce is in the DOING, it’s in the JOY, when you do something that makes you come alive, you awaken that in all those around you and that’s how you naturally start a movement of love.

Want even more tips on growing your tribe and attracting media for your heart-centered message? My lady, Gabby Bernstein, has a free training video out right now that dives into how she manifested media for her message and ended up on Dr.Oz, Oprah, The New York Times Sunday Style section and more. Check it out here.

If this is stirring something in your soul, be sure to hop on my mailing list by entering your email below so you don’t miss a really exciting invitation next week!

Today’s post is very close to my heart because it’s so wild looking back and seeing the steps that got me to be the woman I am today. I talk to many of my business coaching clients about cultivating that deep knowing within that helps them step up and into their purpose because it’s essiential to getting anything done in this world! So without further ado, the 3 ways I stepped up as a lead and changed my life..

1. YOUR LIFE WILL EXPAND IN PROPORTION TO YOU COURAGE.

I was at the lowest of lows – literally what I lovingly look back on as my “eat, pray, love bathroom floor moment” for you Elizabeth Gilbert fans. I had spent all night crying in the corner of my living room and then in the shower and somehow finally made it back to my bed. My long term relationship was over, I had done it, he wasn’t ready to go the distance and we weren’t happy. What I didn’t know is that I’d be getting a phone call a few days later from mom letting me know that my 23 year old brother had a terminal illness, an aggressive auto immune disease that had already taken his entire large intestine and was primed to move on to his liver next. I had never been so upset in my whole life. How could this happen to him? Why not me? He’s got so much life ahead of him, such a sweet kid, how am I suppose to live with this? Needless to say, it rocked me to my core.

It also made me realize how precious each day is. We don’t know if we have next year, next month or next week, so I decided to stop WAITING to live. I dove into a heavy meditation practice to keep my head in gear and process all the emotions and I started following my joy. I was now palpably aware that all I had was the now – so why not send that email? I naturally became more ballsy. I still wasn’t sure at the time what I wanted to do, I was on the line between actress and at home baker. I looked forward to spending time in my kitchen, I made pretty low quality youtube videos of me cooking just because it made me happy. I stopped caring what it looked like and started following what felt good and my life expanded. 

It was from pouring my heart into what I loved, not caring it paid me but just wanting to bring more joy into my life that landed me on a cooking show on National TV. It lead me to my two book deals in the work, clients who emailed me before I even knew what coaching was and ultimately designing the life I love. Your life will expand in proportion to your courage – what are you waiting for?

2. YOUR STORY IS WHAT HEALS + YOUR STORY IS ENOUGH.

When people first started emailing me after reading my blog about health coaching, I had no idea what I was doing. I thought, ” who am I to be coaching people?” because I didn’t have a nutrition degree. It was actually a lecture I had listened to from Gabby Bernstein that shifted my perspective on the matter. Gabby talked about how it was our story that heals, how the biggest gift we can give to another person is our own experience. I realized that what I had was more precious than any certification or degree because I could help women who had gone through what I was going through. I had reclaimed a healthy body image, learned what food worked best for my body and developed a deeply loving and caring relationship for myself and I could guide others in doing the same. Now, I’ve got even more that I can share and help guide people with because I’ve lived way beyond that but at the time, just knowing that my story was enough gave me the confidence to go out and serve.  

I don’t believe our stories are an accident. I think they are divinely orchestrated so that we have an arsenal of real-life tools to help be of service to others. What’s your story? Chances are it’s a big clue as to who you are hear to serve in this lifetime. Gabby has an amazing video about her 3 essentials to step up and be a leader that I highly recommend you check out if you haven’t already because I know it will launch you into even further action! Watch that video here.

3. I STARTED LIVING IN FULL INTEGRITY WITH HOW I WAS HERE TO SERVE.

What in the world does that mean?! Well it’s simple, I focused on living in such a way that if someone was recording my life for a reality TV show – it would be inspiring and people would be inspired by how I went about my day. I practiced radical integrity from everything from my self-care practice, what I ate, how long I meditated, the way I went about my business, you name it. Here’s where the magic really started happening. When you start doing the work on YOU, you begin to fill up your inner well and when you are all filled up, it will naturally overflow on to the rest of the world. When you are completely living your message, content is at your finger tips, you are your own advertising and you don’t need to sell anyone on anything. 

I also believe taking care of the practices that support you allow you to be a bigger container for the abundance the universe can throw your way. Your responsibility, discipline and dedication naturally attract the type of opportunities for you to really step up and be a leader. This is a large part of why I created the LightMaker lifestyle mentorship, it’s not just about taking care of yourself, fueling yourself on the highest vibe food and creating time to connect with your inner truth, it’s about creating such a solid foundation that you can go out and design your most expansive life. It begins with YOU, once you are a living example of what you are here to do, once you are filling yourself up so high that it overflows into everything you do, you will naturally float into the highest vision of your life.

(For those of you contemplating the LightMaker Lifestyle Mentorship – we are at capacity but I have decided to let two more people in since we have split it into two different segments, regular + lite, and since I don’t believe I’ll ever be offering this transformational program again. Email me ASAP if this calls you!)

Last night we had a very powerful energetic evening – it was a new moon in Virgo as well as a partial eclipse and I had the pleasure of serendipitously hosting a meditation workshop at the same time. For those of you who signed up on the email list to get the recording of the workshop, I’ve been having a very “new moon/eclipse” day today trying to get it to upload to youtube! Stay tuned for that – it’s still processing so I sent out the link but hopefully the video appears!

This is just the sort of energy a lot of us may be experiencing during this new moon and partial eclipse,( and you feel it three days before and after – so we have a few days left!) where you feel particularly challenged or block in area, perhaps you feel overwhelmed and your to-do list seems daunting or maybe your just energetically drained. Whatever’s going on for you right now is perfect because it is trying to tell you something!

What’s it trying to say?

Well first off, get organized. I’m having a really rough go at it these past few days because any part of my life that hasn’t been scheduled or organized is blowing up in my face. I’ve felt such a potent energy around the necessity of organization and planning in order to expand our ability for what we’re able to take on in this lifetime. So if you want to GO BIG – you better go inside and see where you can plan better, allocate time better and clear the space for you to accomplish more with ease, flow and grace.

For instance, a few days ago, I started more specifically scheduling my daily tasks into my calendar. So instead of just knowing “I need to write X article today”, I have put in a time slot on my google calendar, estimated about an hour for writing that hour and I have an appointment to do it with myself at the allocated time I’ve set. I also took an inventory of all the projects I have in the works right now, wrote it out on good old fashioned paper and then created task lists for them all and SCHEDULED that! Now, maybe you’re reading this and you are thinking “Duh! That’s so obvious!” and bless you if you are but for me this was a part of me that I was neglecting. I wasn’t showing up for it because it doesn’t come naturally to me.

What areas or things in your life are you NOT showing up for because they may not come so organically?

The eclipse energy is going to dredge it up and if you don’t start giving it some loving attention, it’s going to trip you up and block you from going as big as you want to in your life.

COMMITMENT is another big theme that I’ve been getting right now. The energy of commitment is REALLY POWERFUL it’s like cutting through all fog with a bright laser or shooting a single direct arrow instead of throwing spaghetti. When we commit to something we direct our energy towards something productive and it actually energizes us rather than drains. It’s the things that we let float around as maybes that weigh us down. Whether it’s about eating better, working out, a work project, relationship or breaking a pattern or habit that’s no longer serving you, use this potent energy the next few days to fiercely commit to it. My personal favorite practice for this is writing a contract with myself and keeping it in a place where I see it daily. Let me know what you end up doing and feel free to use the comments below to shout out your commitments and allow me to hold the space for your transformation around them!

Other tips for utilizing this energy + processing it efficiently: drink lots of water to help your body integrate the energies and try to spend some time near water if possible whether it’s a lake, beach or bathtub – all will feel immensely therapeutic right now! As always, listen to your body, you may feel the need for more rest than usual, not want to be in loud or crowded places or feel the need to place your feet on the earth. Do what it wants and you will move through this powerful time with grace.

My favorite reads about the new moon eclipse are these two below. Give them a peruse, let me know what you think  and what your feeling right now in the comments below – I love hearing from you and connecting! Also, if you’re really craving transformation and ready to commit to going bigger, shining brighter and supporting yourself more than ever, check out my LightMaker Lifestyle Mentorship – I’m only taking a few people on for this intensive transformational journey so if you are called apply today!

http://thenuminous.net/virgo-new-moon-eclipse/

http://www.mysticmamma.com/solar-eclipse-new-moon-in-virgo-september-12-13-2015/

I had the immense pleasure last week of guiding a meditation workshop for a beautiful group of NYC editors in a breathtaking loft on the west side highway in honor of the unveiling of KIND snack’s latest baby, KIND breakfast bars! When my friends at KIND reached out to me about creating a “KIND way to start the day”, we were immediately on the same page about how important the first few hours of your day are for setting the tone of how everything else flows. They put together a fabulous event that included Tara Milhem from TheWholeTara.com mixing together her favorite smoothie recipes, Lauren Taus taking us through a rise and shine morning yoga flow and myself guiding a few meditations to let go of any stress or anxiety and reconnect to our inner truth. Of course, I didn’t want you to miss out on all the fun, so I’ve included a play by play of my little meditation “buffet” as well as some fun snaps of the event!

Oh and how can I forget about our guest of honor? KIND breakfast bars are available today at Targets all over but you can also purchase them with a special 15% discount at KindSnack.com by putting in the code: KINDBREAKFAST. These bars are great to grab on the go with a coconut yogurt or packet of almond butter. The cocoa bar is also a pretty divine dessert-for-breakfast treat with a cup of hot tea!

My Morning Meditation “Breakfast Buffet” 

We began with the kundalini meditation “ego irradicator” while listening to Florence + The Machine’s “You’ve Got the Love”.
Refresher: Sit cross-legged with your arms up at a 60 degree angle, fingers touching the top pads of your palm and thumbs plugging into the sky. Close your eyes and begin breath of fire, breathing aggressively out the nose like you are blowing a piece of hair off your lips, focusing on the exhale and allowing the inhale to come naturally. When the song ends, allow thumbs to magnetically float together and hold, extending all the fingers as you take a deep breath in and hold it for ten seconds. Release your hands down around your body coming to touch your finger tips to the floor.

Next, we channel our inner light while listening to India Arie’s “I am Light”.
Refresher: Sit cross legged, palms face up resting on your knees, close your eyes and visualize a glowing ball of light at your hearts center. With each breathe watch and feel this ball of light grow bigger till it’s so big that it’s seeping through every pore of your being and surrounding you in a golden bubble of light. Let the light wash away any stress or strain, negative emotions or beliefs that aren’t serving you. When the song is coming to a close, take a deep breath in and hold it for 10 seconds allow yourself to feel completely surrounded and supported by this light that has emanated from the core of your being. Exhale.

We then moved on to a kundalini meditation for balance and purification while playing Megan Trainor’s “Close Your Eyes”.
Refresher: Sitting on our heels, we folded our arms like “I dream of Genie”, right arm on top of left, fingers touching elbows, at chest height. We close our eyes and allow our breath to support us through the next few minutes apply pressure to the juncture of the hands and elbows which allows us to lengthen our spine and balance our posture. After 3 mins or when the music is coming to a close, take a deep breath in and apply even more pressure to the arms, holding them super tight for ten seconds and then releasing.

Lastly, we closed with the simple mantra “Let Go” on our breathe to help us release any anxiety or frustration around the agenda for the day ahead. Simple closing our eyes and saying silently to ourselves, “LET” on the inhale and “GO” on the exhale. If you’d like to listen to a guided version of this meditation feel free to check out https://cassandrabodzak.com/guided-meditation-beginners. It’s a great place to start your practice with just a few minutes a day!

Being LOVE is not being a pushover.

I repeat, being love is NOT being a pushover.

Today I had to do one of my least favorite things in the world. I had to call someone who owes me money. It wasn’t an individual, it was a big company that I had a contract with. I had fulfilled my end of the agreement on the project and had never received my payment. It was not easy for me, I felt my fear boil up because I didn’t want to “bother” them. I even was apologetic in my first couple of emails to them a month ago. I prayed for guidance and help around it and I got three wonderful angelic messages. The first was while I was out to go grab some green juice this morning and listening to one of my favorite podcast’s She Did It Her Way and the guest of the particular episode was a woman named Ann Ricketts who now teaches presentation courses at silicon valley biggies like facebook and twitter. I was paying for my juice and going on my way when I heard Ann talk about how women over apologize and under qualify what they do. She talked about how we have this habit (that a lot of men don’t) where we will say, “Sorry to bother you” or “I won’t take up too much of your time” instead of just standing in our power and owning it.

Ding Ding Ding.

Own it. I knew I had to send another email and try to get this figured out. The check was 3 months late. Then I got another hit. Call Dad and ask him how he would phrase it. Ah, of course. My dad, my superhero, famous for telling me to,”put my big girl panties on and deal with it” when I need a little loving nudge would be a great person to call for this. I get him on the phone and the first thing he says is, “stop emailing, start calling.” Makes a lot of sense, emails are kind of passive and don’t really convey how serious I am. He also told me that if in a few days they still don’t come up with the check that I might want to take a little visit to their office, show them how serious I am in person. Most importantly he reminded me that I didn’t have to apologize for any of it! That we had a contract, I upheld my end of the bargain, they did NOT uphold theirs and although I could and should handle it professionally in a classy manner that I needed to stand my ground. If I was going to be a pushover, they would be happy to push me over and keep the money.

When we love ourselves and our grounded in who we are and the good work we do in the world, we don’t need to apologize for asking for the money we are owed.

Lastly, before I picked up the phone, I was reminded of a lovely client I had a session with just yesterday who was struggling to stand in her power and say no to things that weren’t expansive for her in her daily life. I realized that the same muscles I was explaining to her to build, I needed to keep working on at a bigger level. We are constantly strengthening our love muscles and what starts out as saying no to events and people who are not in your highest good at that moment evolves to standing in your power and asking for what you are owed unapologetically.

I prayed before I got on that phone. I sent them love and I asked that the situation be resolved in a peaceful, loving manner. I wish I could say that they apologized, wrote me a check and had someone drop it off, that did not happen. The book is not yet closed on the matter and I will continue to stand in my power from a place of love in this situation till it’s resolved but I learned a really important lesson on an even deeper level. Love does not shrink, love does not wimper, love allows us to have a strong foundation in the storm and an immoveable peace in all situations.

I’m a pisces, I’m naturally not someone who likes confrontation. I would love nothing more than for all situations to go smoothly and not have to deal with ruffles. I had been praying about this particular situation for a few weeks now, asking for it to be resolved easily and timely. However, sometimes we don’t know what’s in our best interest and while I would have LOVED for the check to come in the mail when it was supposed to and this situation to have been remedied immediately, perhaps the path of greater growth was in me standing in my power and getting a much needed reminder that:

Being love is NOT being a pushover.

Being love is STRONG.

Being love is FIERCE.

Being love is POWERFUL.

Stand in that power. Stand in a place of love UNAPOLOGETICALLY.

Saying NO to people and events who drain you is self care, it’s loving yourself on a deep level.

Standing up for yourself from a centered place of love is nothing to apologize about.

You are pure LOVE and your are not a pushover.